To Traverse Kráka Land
by Epiphany-Induced Rant
Summary: 2 sisters lived a simple life. Years later, as Kikyou trains with the Mikos of the South and Kagome travels across the diverse terrain of Kráka Land, a great evil is rising. Courage. Friendship. Wisdom. Love. Can they conquer and fulfill their destinies?
1. Margr Fjall Darl

To Traverse Kráka Land

by Epiphany-Induced Rant

"_Margr Fjall Darl"_

She tilled the land with her _amma's_ worn _arðr_. It was laborious work and even the years upon years of completing the task had not lessened its difficultly. The high upswing, swift downswing into the rock filled soil still bit into the muscles of her arms and back. Beneath the heavy sun, the resulting dehydration made such a chore worse, yet the girl continued to do her work without complaint.

"Hurry, _Berglj__ót_. You must be faster," her _amma_ called.

The girl swung the ar_ð_r down more rapidly, striking its metal into the dirt and dragging it forward at nearly twice the speed she had been using before. _Bergljót_ understood that her _amma_ was not purposely being hard on her in spite. Without the extra hands of her _systir_ or _afi_, _Bergljót_ and her _amma_ were forced to work doubly hard. Being that the snows of death had already crept into the latter's hair, this meant most of the work now rested on _Bergljót's_ shoulders.

_Bergljót_ tried to push thoughts of her lost family out of her mind, but she found that she could not stop now that she had started. Her _afi_ had died the summer before, succumbing to a plague, which had taken the lives of many from her village. The absence of his presence was still greatly felt by her and her _amma_. It stung even worse because before they were given the proper time to mourn, _Bergljót's systir, __Iðunnr_, was taken by the _Fr__óðleikr Mær_. The wise, elder woman had traveled from the outside to rid the people of the _Margr Fjall Dalr_ of the plague and had chosen _Iðunnr_ as her trainee during that time.

Being chosen by the _Fr__óðleikr Mær_ was a great honor. The _Margr Fjall Dalr _people could not remember the last time one of their own had received such a right. Regardless of this, _Bergljót_, using the quietude her mind afforded her, could not help but curse at the _Fr__óðleikr Mær_ blessing. She was truly happy that her sister would receive such magnanimous training, but now felt painfully lonely in the elder girl's absence. Years would pass before she would see her sister again.

If she would see her sister again...

_Bergljót_ dug the metal into the dirt with more force than necessary as she halted the track of her thoughts with force. Refusing to think of anything that troubled her heart and mind, _Bergljót _lost herself in the steady upswing, downswing of the_ arðr._

Though it moved by slowly, _Bergljót_ found that time in the _Margr Fjall Dalr _did move. A year of tilling, sowing and harvesting the fields with her _amma_ and preparing the food for meals and storage dragged by. She attended _boð _after _boð, _though her companions were few and her passion for them was even less, and listened every weekend she could spare to the story-weaving of a _kerling_ who was not known by any name. Mostly, in her precious and rare moments of freedom, _Bergljót _spent her time amongst the few animals her _amma_ possessed, imagining what her _systir_ was doing.

Barely in a whisper even within her mind, _Bergljót _wondered if _Iðunnr_ missed her too.

* * *

_Bergljót _awoke out of a pleasant dream, one were she was reunited with her _systir_, to the sound of screaming. Before she even had time to process the panic such a sound was stirring within her, the smell of smoke reached her nostrils. She choked in response, not from the smoke, which was still thin on the air near her, but from the stench it carried. _Bergljót_ knew that smell. It was one of burning flesh. _Bergljót_ had smelled it when her _afi_ was placed on his funeral pyre.

She swallowed back a scream, which begged to rip loose from her throat. _Bergljót_'s immediate concern was locating her _amma_. Fright could have its way with her later.

When _Bergljót _stood up her knees gave out. She bit her lip as she focused on forcing herself back up. Once she was certain that her legs would not fail her again, _Bergljót _wrapped her shall tightly around herself and made her way out of the cottage.

"_Amma_! _Amma_!" she called, but no response was forthcoming.

She turned left, found nothing and then turned to the right. At was at this point that _Bergljót _realized it was still too early in the morning to see clearly on her own. She raced back inside and threw items aside as she searched for a candle. Once she located one she abruptly lit it using the dying fire in the corner and returned to finish her search.

As _Bergljót _took in the sight before her, a scream ripped from her throat. Her _amma_'s body lay mangled and bloody to the right of the front door. Three, deep slash marks had been left from her chin down through her stomach. _Bergljót _could not believe how much blood had leaked out. It did not seem possible that all of that thick liquid had once fit inside the elderly woman's small body.

_Bergljót _emptied the contents of her stomach to the point that her throat burned. She then crawled forward, dug her arms beneath her _amma_ and sank down. The burn in her throat transferred to her eyes, which were drowning the dead woman in the spilling, salty liquid. _Bergljót_ did not have to possess the gift of healing to know that her caretaker of so many years was gone.

She was alone. She was entirely alone.

Another scream pierced through the downward spiral her thoughts were taking and snapped her back to the world of the living. It was as if she had momentarily shut herself completely off from everything else. Now that she was out of that fog, reality snapped back with a vengeance. The smell of scorched flesh drowned her and she had to drop her _amma_ in order to vomit again elsewhere.

_Bergljót _knew she needed to move now and discover what had happened. She was not particularly close to any of the people of the _Margr Fjall Darl_,outside of her family, but there was a calling ringing through her bones. It pulled her in the direction of the smoke and the stench.

When the town's center came into sight, _Bergljót _found that her stomach no longer held anything that it could be emptied of. Regardless, she bent over and dry heaved until she could again get control of herself. Once she was steady, she rose back to her feet and made her way past the largest pyre she had ever seen. Ignoring the terrifying sight, which would dominate her dreams for many, many nights to come, she began her search for survivors.

"_Bergljót, _child. Be that you?" A familiar voice called out.

She turned her head in the direction of the voice and saw the story-weaver. She smiled, hoping against all odds that this meant she was not alone, but the gods were clearly against her. A smaller yet similar gash to the one covering her _amma_'s body had been torn across the stomach of the _kerling_.

_Bergljót _made to place her shawl on the _kerling_'swounds to stall the bleeding, but the story-weaver shook her head.

"No, child. You'll be needing it where yer going."

The girl could only blink in response.

"I know yer searching for survivors and it pains me to tell you this, but they wiped the _Margr Fjall Darl_ clean of our people. It be only you and I now, child and I fear I only have little time left. There be so much I must tell you."

_Bergljót _stayed silent and emotionless as she tried to absorb everything the _kerling_ had to tell her.

"Many moons ago yer Mother came to us. She was a powerful _Fr__óðleikr Mær_ from a far away land. Her clothing was unlike anything we had ever seen and while it was indecent, the woman proved herself not to be. She called herself Jin and the child with her, yer sister, Iðunnr, Kikyou. She still carried you within her."

Shortly after you were born your Mother sensed a great evil rising outside. She went to fight it, saying that she had to protect you. She begged yer _amma_, the one who helped her give birth to you, to take you and your sister in. She asked that your _amma_ and _afi_ raise you without the knowledge that I tell you now."

She said, if she could not come back, to tell you all of this when nobody else could. She also asked that I give this to you when you be ready. She said that it would guide you.

I didn't be understanding everything Jin said until now."

Slowly, the _kerling_ reached toward a tiny pouch attached to the woven rope around her waist. She pulled back its flap and dug her shaking hand inside. When the hand came back up, a silver necklace dangled from her fingers. From its end a pendant, a tiny, perfectly clear ball, hung.

"She called you Kagome," were the story-weaver's last words as she pressed the necklace into the weeping girl's palm.

* * *

It was well past midday when _Berglj__ót_ pushed herself away from the dead body of the story-weaver and tried to shake some life back into her sore limbs. Even though she knew in her heart that all of her village people were gone, she forced herself to go from door to door searching anyway. By the time the sun was setting she gave up her fruitless search and made her way back to her home of so many years.

_Berglj__ót_ burned her _amma_'s body and said the prayers to the _tívar_, wishing her _s__ál _safe passage into the afterlife. She did not give herself any time to mourn before returning to the resting place of the _kerling_ and repeating the process with her body. After she was finished, _Berglj__ót _returned to her straw mat and collapsed into a restless sleep for two days. When she awoke she packed a satchel with food, a brush, spare clothing, flint, some candels and a knife she wouldn't even know how to use. Satisfied, she made her way to finish her task in town.

There had been forty-seven people in the _Margr Fjall Darl_, excluding herself, her _amma_ and the _kerling_. Ignoring the daunting number, _Berglj__ót_ took the time to say prayers for each and every one of them. From the detached place she found herself resting somewhat comfortably in, Bergljót thought it was a pity that she didn't have time to prepare the _erfi_. Of course, there would not have been anyone, save herself, to participate in such a feast.

She reserved her last set of prayers for the girl named Bergljót. In her mind, that girl walked the path to the afterlife with her _amma_ and _afi_.

"Kagome," she whispered, rolling the foreign name across her tongue. It was odd and would take some time to get used to, but something about it sounded right to her.

"Kagome," she said a little louder.

Satisfied, Kagome took a deep breath and made her way toward the treacherous path, which lead out of the _Margr Fjall Darl_. She did not once look back.

* * *

**My Notes**: I wanted to do something different that the usual InuYasha fanfiction. Kráka Land is not set in Feudal Japan, Sengoku period or otherwise. We will see some Japanese culture as well as a bunch of other cultures, real and imaginary, in this story. We're also going to see a mixture of our favorite main characters, some minor characters and some new ones all in different guises. Basically, Kráka Land is a magical place full of secrets and surprises, which I hope you'll all come to enjoy.

I tried to choose Norse names for Kagome and Kikyou, which were similar in their meanings._ Berglj__ót_ means "rescue light" whereas Kagome means "everlasting light". _Iðunnr_ means "again to love" whereas Kikyo means "Chinese bellflower", which stands for "unchanging love".

**Disclaimer**: I don't own InuYasha, its creative concepts or its characters.

**Translations**:

_Old Norse – _English

_Kráka_ – crow

_Land_ – land

_Amma –_ grandmother

_Arðr –_ plow

_Systir_ - sister

_Afi_ – grandfather

Fróðleikr Mær – Magic Maiden

_Margr Fjall Darl_ – Many Mountain Valley

_Kerling – _old woman

_S__ál _– soul

Tívar – gods

_Erfi – _funeral feast


	2. Outside

To Traverse Kráka Land

by Epiphany-Induced Rant

"Outside"

By the end of the first day Kagome's body ached. By the end of the second dehydration, due to her inability to locate fresh water, sank in. After all, she had never had to fend for herself in the wild before. By the end of the third, she found that her will to go on was dwindling. She would have taken arðr to earth until all of Margr Fjall Darl was thoroughly plowed over this torture. Of course, thinking of that only managed to stir feelings of Margr Fjall Darl when people like her amma were bright and living. She couldn't have that.

Kagome pushed onward for another day until her knees gave out and exhaustion claimed her. Within moments the dirt and rock beneath her became as comfortable as her straw mattress. Snuggling into the hillside, she collapsed into a deep sleep.

* * *

The raven-haired girl awoke to the sensation of being jostled. She blinked her eyes several times in an attempt to adjust them to the intense light. The sun was out strong today, which was making it hard to see. Once she got in control of her sight, Kagome noticed that the trees were moving past her. She turned her head to the side to better inspect this anomaly and let out a harsh scream.

The man who was carrying her shouted as well in a surprisingly high voice and dropped her. While the fall into the rocks knocked the wind out of her and would have normally kept her down, Kagome found that a huge surge of energy had burst through her. Using that adrenaline, she launched to her feet and began to run at her full speed away from the man.

A hand squeezed tightly around her wrist. It wasn't enough to crush her, but it hurt and she struggled against it.

"_Hashiranaide_," the man said in a much deeper tone than his earlier screech.

She could not understand his tongue, but his eyes told her that he did not appreciate her attempt at fleeing. Ignoring his threatening tone and grip on her arm, Kagome struggled her best to break free.

"_Shinjite moraemasen ka?_" he demanded.

Tears began to spill down her cheek as her other hand fought to break herself free from his hold.

His eyes softened as he softly said, "_Watashi wa anata wo kizutsukenai to yakusoku shimasu._"

Kagome was not assured by the man's change in demeanor. She had spent her entire life growing up in Margr Fjall Darl, surrounded entirely by mountains, which nobody, sans the Fróðleikr Mær, ever crossed. Her people stayed in, and outsiders stayed out. While it wasn't something that had been directly taught to her, Kagome found that she was wary of this outsider. Losing her people to a massacre orchestrated by an unknown hand had increased that instinctive reaction tenfold.

The man's eyebrows scrunched together as he asked, his voice clearly ringing with disbelief, "_Nihongo wo hanashimasu ka?_"

She continued to fight to break free, ignoring his strange words entirely and their accompanying emotions. It wasn't until he began nodding his head and squealing, that she ceased her struggle. Her tears halted as she cocked her head to the side. When he began to jump up and down, letting her arm go in the process, she was so shocked that she did not move. She was reminded of the little girls in her village who would bounce in excitement whenever they were presented with a treat. That image brought both a smile to her face and drove a needle through her heart.

Once he calmed down, the man pointed at himself and said, "Jakotsu".

He then pointed at Kagome and waited. When she did not respond, the man tried again.

"Ja-ko-tsu," he said slowly, once again pointing to his chest.

As he pointed to her chest he lifted his eyebrows.

Though she did not trust him entirely, a nagging feeling in her chest told her that this odd man would not harm her. Plus, it was becoming increasingly clear to her that she didn't stand a chance of getting away from this man anyway. Deciding that, in favor of prolonging her life, playing nice was the way to go Kagome pointed one of her own fingers at her chest.

"Kagome," she said after a moment.

"Kagome," he repeated, cocking a brow.

Obviously, the unfamiliarity of the name on her own tongue had not been lost on the all-too-perceptive man. Regardless, he didn't act on the observations he had evidently made.

"Jakotsu," she replied.

He smiled and she forced herself to reciprocate in kind, even though her discomfort was to the point of physical constriction in her chest and stomach.

After a moment, Jakotsu snatched Kagome's hand up and interlaced his fingers with hers. A blush sprung up on her face in response. Kagome hadn't even held hands so intimately before and doing such with a stranger was wholly embarrassing. Even so, she knew that attempting to shake her hand loose would be pointless, so she merely let it remain limp in his hold as he pulled her along.

* * *

By the time the sun had fallen and the moon had taken its place in the sky, Jakotsu slowed his pace. Kagome was thankful for this because even though he had carried her for the better half of the afternoon, his speed was still jarring. She wasn't aware that someone could run as fast as he. Even the _smali_ of her village when frightened could not match his pace and they could easily outrun her.

Jakotsu gently set Kagome down and steadied her as she readjusted to the still land beneath her feet. Once she stopped swaying, he let go of her arm, turned and began heading through the trees. She begrudgingly followed him. All of her early attempts at getting away from him had been thwarted. At this point, she realized it was useless. Trying to outrun or trick Jakotsu was like trying to swim in a lake and remaining dry. It was simply impossible.

Besides, assuming he did not bind her for the night, she could always try when he fell asleep.

When the pair broke through the trees, Kagome's eyes took in the rowdy group sitting before it. There were three men. The two nearest to the fire had jumped to their feet and were looking at Kagome with anger. The remaining man had his head pressed down into his knees and appeared to be in deep, tormenting thought.

"_Nani__?" _one with a huge, terrifying sword strapped to his back bellowed.

"_Kanojo__ wa dare desu ka?_" another – one who was wearing a blue scarf on his purple mark adorned head – demanded.

She found herself stepping back so that Jakotsu's body was shielding her from the more opposing strangers. He began talking rather animatedly with the other men, as she focused on the silent one who appeared to be fully oblivious to everything going on around him. His sagged body spoke of loss and she found her heart reaching out toward him. Kagome knew all about loss and wondered what the man's own story was.

While Jakotsu continued to argue with the men by the fire, Kagome slowly made her way over to the hunched over man. She sank to her knees before him and placed a hand on the man's shoulder. He tensed and his head snapped up, but the look he gave her was not one of fear or anger. Tears poured from his face and her heart cracked. Kagome had never witnessed so much dejection written so clearly on another's face. His vulnerability was palpable and she couldn't help her own tears, which had begun to flow freely.

"I'm so sorry," she whispered to him in her native tongue as her hand reached up to caress the man's tears away.

At the sound of her voice, the man's eyes connected with Kagome's. For a moment, he stared at her with disbelief before his gaze traveled down her body. When his eyes met with hers for a second time, she saw horror in their depths. Before she could react, the man had burst up, knocking her body back in the process, and took off into the surrounding forest.

Her protector and tormentor took off after the man, yelling out something, which sounded dangerously like a curse. He had left Kagome, on her back, staring up at the upside down bodies of two very frightening, unhappy looking men.

* * *

**My Notes**: This story is going to be long so if it seems like its picking up slowly, it's because we're only at the tiny beginning of so much to come.

**Disclaimer**: I don't own InuYasha, its creative concepts or its characters.

**Translations**:

_Norse – _English

_smali_ - sheep

_Japanese _– English

_Hashiranaide._ – Don't run.

_Shinjite moraemasen ka?_ – Why won't you trust me?

_Watashi wa anata wo kizutsukenai to yakusoku shimasu. _– I promise I won't hurt you.

_Nihongo wo hanashimasu ka?_ – Do you speak Japanese?

_Nani__? _– What?

_Kanojo__ wa dare desu ka?_ – Who is she?


	3. 骨 Gang

To Traverse Kráka Land

by Epiphany-Induced Rant

"骨 Gang_"_

Renkotsu admired the girl's handiwork. The hand-sized explosives she'd prepared were only a sliver below the grade of his own. When she had first showed up that night three years ago, he had had every intention of slitting her throat and being done with her. The former monk smiled. Time had more than shown her usefulness and for once in his life, he was glad to have been wrong.

Kagome completed the Kotsu Gang in ways that the former foursome had not even known were missing. She brought a kindness, a shining light that made them all aware of their hidden imperfections. Rather than weakening them, the men found that they had grown stronger in Kagome's presence. Jakotsu gained a confidence from her. Bankotsu grew out of his flighty stage as she helped him sharpen his focus. Renkotsu found himself softening and opening up in ways he would have only seen as weakness before Kagome. And Suikotsu, who often kept others at arm's length, quickly grew to adore the girl.

Of course, Kagome was far from perfect. Her cooking was atrocious and when Jakotsu first brought her to their camp, she couldn't fight worth a damn. Nevertheless, she proved herself to be a steadfast learner and heavily self-reliant. She struggled to keep up with them and held her head high in practice even when her legs should have given out from the beatings she took.

The second in command remembered when he and his kinsmen had taken Kagome to the _Tamashii __Horishi. _The wise, old master had chosen a _nishikigoi_, the symbol of love and friendship, for her. It was placed on her inner wrist, just beneath her palm. Jakotsu had admired its beauty and whined that his snake's fangs were not at all pretty. One comment of admiration from Kagome and a grunt of agreement from Bankotsu had shut the feminine man up very quickly. After that, the four men had agreed it perfectly matched Kagome and welcomed her officially into their gang.

The stubborn girl had refused to accept the addition to her name, which was her right as an inducted member into the _Kotsu_ Gang. She argued that it wasn't that Kagkotsu didn't sit well with her, but that she just wasn't willing to relinquish her birth given name. As was usual, when she discussed such things, the men found her retreating into herself for several days. It was very frustrating for the four men.

Above all things, Kagome was a mystery. In time Renkotsu, who was always one for seeking the deeper meaning, had hoped to unravel the truth behind the newest member to his gang. Regardless, the man's every effort to do so had produced little results. He knew she had spent her childhood in an isolated town somewhere in the Eastern Mountains where they spoke an unknown tongue. He knew from her mannerisms that she had lost something very special to her. Other than this, he knew very little of Kagome's past or who she really was.

* * *

While Renkotsu rested his back against a tree, the object of his curiosity was wielding her sai. Four of the fingers of each of her hands wrapped around the handles while the pointers stretched down the blades. She moved the arms with an intoxicating grace, treating the deadly weapons like they were extensions of her own body. Her current audience hidden in a nearby tree, Jakotsu and Bankostu, were completely transfixed by her controlled dance. The girl was truly a goddess of the art, yet when it came to including her on their missions, the men adamantly refused.

"Why can't I come, Big Brother?" she begged several days prior.

"Nope," Bankotsu replied simply before stealing one of her fish.

"I'm good enough, aren't I?" she asked Jakotsu the next day, pouting her lip in a manner she'd hope would be affective.

"Oooo, ooo!" He had squealed, his eyes glued to her mouth, "Teach me to do that, please!"

She had rolled her eyes at his attempt to duplicate the movement of her lower lip, but had resigned herself to teaching him after several minutes of incessant whining.

"Renkotsu," she had begun while preparing a mixture for the explosives early that morning.

He cut her off with the raising of his hand and a firm jerk of his head. That man always knew what she was going to say and Kagome was left to drop her head in defeat.

Several hours later, she had attempted to approach the doctor in training, Suikotsu, with her plight. She found him collecting herbs in a field and he had graciously accepted her assistance. For nearly an hour, she tried to think of what to say to him. When the words were ready to come, he had turned to her and expressed how grateful he was that she was not like the others.

"You have a gentleness to you, of which I am envious, Kagome," he had whispered as he yanked at a particularly tough root.

Turning to meet her eyes, he had said, "You value life. I am grateful for your presence."

She blushed and all of the words she'd so tediously prepared died in her throat.

Kagome dove aggressively at an especially difficult target. It just wasn't fair that they didn't include her! She wanted to fight with them, damn it! She was a member of the _Kotsu_ Gang after all, wasn't she? What were they protecting her from? What they did couldn't be that bad!

Could it?

The girl sheathed her blades and took off in the direction of the river. She found that the moving waters tended to help clear her head.

'They're good people. They can't possibly be doing things that are too terrible,' she told herself once she sank into the water's depths.

* * *

"Please, I beg you. Don't do this," a woman cried as she tried to pull her two children into her chest.

The little ones wept into their mother's clothing, as they wrapped their arms tightly around her. They didn't understand what was happening, but they knew that if their mother was scared then things could not be good. Mama was tough and she was never afraid of anything. When the wolves had attacked their village, searching out their livestock, their Mother had fended them off with rocks and her scary voice. When Papa passed away last summer, she'd put her tough face on and worked twice as hard to make ends meet. Seeing their mama as she was now frightened the children more than anything.

"You know better than to try to take from the Lord's reserves."

"But sirs, we were so hungry. Our town has suffered only illness and famine this year. We have already lost several to hunger as it is. Please think of the children," the mother cried.

One of the sword wielders cracked a grin before he backhanded the woman.

"Stop! You are human like us! Why do you fight for them?" an older man, one who had nothing to lose, questioned bravely.

There were several grunts of agreement.

"We are nothing like you," was the only reply, before the whip of blades tore through their flesh.

* * *

**My Notes**: I've slightly altered the ages of the original InuYasha characters, which you've seen thus far. As of this chapter, they are: Kagome – 18, Kikyou – 20, Jakotsu – 20, Bankotsu – 20, Renkotsu – 24, Suikotsu – 22. Three years have passed since the last chapter.

In case you are wondering, the meanings of the other _Kotsu_ Gang member's marks are: Renkotsu's mean deception. Suikotsu's mean rage. Bankotsu's mean youth.

**Disclaimer**: I don't own InuYasha, its creative concepts or its characters.

**Translations**:

_Japanese_ – English

_Kotsu _(骨) – Bone

_Tamashii __Horishi_ – Soul Tattoo Artist

_Nishikigoi_ – brocaded carp more commonly called a koi fish

_Sai_ – type of Okinawan dagger


End file.
